


(Invitation Only) Game Night at Beacon Academy

by Kiiratam



Series: Game Nights at Beacon Academy & Beyond [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Just outrageous teasing, No actual sexytimes, Strip Poker Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 10:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20357074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiiratam/pseuds/Kiiratam
Summary: In between actual RPG sessions, Yang gets a hankering for some gaming.Strip poker, specifically.Takes place between Volumes 1 and 2. (My BMBLB fic index)





	(Invitation Only) Game Night at Beacon Academy

**<From - Yang Xiao Long>**  
** <To - Blake Belladonna, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Jaune Arc, Sun Wukong>**  
** <Title - Poker Night>**

<**Yang (7:37pm)** \- We're playing strip poker. If you don't want to, leave this chat, and no one will say anything about it. But if anyone _breathes_ a word of this to Ruby, I will personally throw you into the river. From Beacon.>

  
<**Sun (7:40pm)** \- I'm down. Mistral hold 'em? Vacuo twist? King Taijitu?>

  
<**Blake (7:41pm)** \- I can't believe I'm saying this, but sure. Just... stop waggling your eyebrows at me. You're weirding me out.>

  
<**Jaune (7:45pm)** \- Umm, yes? Please?>

  
<**Jaune (7:46pm)** \- Did you mean to leave Weiss out?>

  
<**Yang (7:48pm)** \- @Sun - I think you're the only one other than me that's played, so we'll start with five card draw, and go from there. @Jaune - do you honestly think _Weiss_ would play strip poker? _Ever_?>

  
<**Pyrrha (7:48pm)** \- I've never played before, but okay.>

  
<**Yang (7:49pm)** \- You'll just have to make do without Weiss' snow cones.>

  
<**Nora (7:49pm)** \- GOOD IDEA! IT'LL BE FUN!>

  
<**Jaune (7:49pm)** \- Yeah, good point.>

  
<**Sun (7:50pm)** \- Yeah, okay. Also, lol, 'snow cones'.>

  
<**Ren (7:50pm)** \- Ok.>

  
<**Blake (7:51pm)** \- Snow cones? Really?>

  
<**Yang (7:55pm)** \- Some ground rules: **Rule 0** \- Don't be weird. If you feel uncomfortable, the safeword is aardvark. Anyone uses the safeword, we drop the current conversation and start a new one. No questions.  
**Rule 1** \- Don't invite anyone else.  
**Rule 2** \- What happens on Poker Night stays at Poker Night. Period. That said, we're playing poker and ogling each other. Make out on your own time.  
**Rule 3** \- Tell Ruby, take a swim. I just want to emphasize that.>

  
<**Yang (7:58pm)** \- You will need -  
**1 school uniform** \- Ladies, wear your jacket, vest, blouse, weird not-tie thing, skirt, stockings, & shoes. Gents, that's jacket, vest, shirt, tie, pants, socks & shoes.  
**0-2 personal accents **\- Jewelry, hats, glasses, hallowe'en masks, whatever.  
@Sun, you can either wear the Haven uniform (if you actually have one) and make up the difference with more accents, or we can borrow you a Beacon uniform.>

  
<**Sun (8:04pm)** \- Aww, are we just playing to underwear?>

  
<**Yang (8:06pm)** \- With a bunch of newbies? Yeah. This is poker night, not orgy night.>

  
<**Nora (8:06pm)** \- HA! WRECKED.>

  
<**Sun (8:07pm)** \- ...Do y'all have one of those?>

  
<**Jaune (8:07pm)** \- Am I just not in that chat, or was that a joke?>

  
<**Blake (8:07pm)** \- Seriously, Yang?>

  
<**Pyrrha (8:08pm)** \- Ummm...>

  
<**Yang (8:09pm)** \- I mean, if there's this much interest, we can schedule one of those too, but for now, let's just do poker night. Sun, you good on a uniform?>

  
<**Sun (8:13pm)** \- Yeah, I got one.>

  
<**Yang (8:14pm)** \- Okay. Guys bring snacks, girls bring drinks. I've got the venue covered. Meet me at the trailhead leading to makeout glade at 9pm tomorrow. Wear cute underwear!>

  
<**Jaune (8:15pm)** \- And I'm going to look like an idiot... But where is that?>

  
_<Several people are typing...>_

* * *

Blake leaned against a tree, just into the deepest shadows. She was the first one here, apparently. Her collapsible picnic basket, stuffed full of drinks, was at her feet. By her internal clock, it was still two minutes to nine. Yang had run off after dinner, saying she had 'stuff' to do. Probably getting the venue set up. Weiss was studying for their tests next week (as usual), and Ruby was theoretically also studying, but probably just bothering Weiss (also as usual).

  
She still couldn't believe she'd agreed to this. Blake _had_ played poker before. Not seriously, and not with her modesty on the line, but still. If Yang wanted to assume that she was a novice, that was her mistake. Blake knew enough about poker to know that getting your opponent to underestimate you was a good trick.

  
Blake ran inventory. She wasn't sure how the betting would work, but she had her shoes, socks, tie-ribbon, jacket, vest, blouse, skirt, her ribbon bracers, and an undershirt. Nine items. And her 'bow', of course, but she wasn't intending to take that off, even among friends, if she was in a strange place. Blake wasn't intending to show off her underwear, but they were her cutest. Black, lacy... immodest. At the very least, if she was on her last stitches of clothing, she'd have distraction going for her. Really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

  
Looking down at her basket, she wondered if she'd bought enough at the market. Lots of bottled water. Blake had wanted tea, but hadn't wanted to deal with the logistics of boiling water. So she'd just gotten some fruit smoothies. She'd gotten a few algae ones for Ren; Nora said he liked those. Some of those Vacuo iced teas for Sun - and anyone else with no respect for tea. Blake really wasn't sure how the night would go, so she had a bottle of sake and cups buried at the bottom of the basket. Between her, Nora, and Pyrrha, that should be enough.

  
And speaking of, there was Nora and Ren. Nora just strolling along, carrying two fistfuls of bags. Ren, doing his light-footed combat walk, alert to peril, carrying another bag. Blake smiled, held herself still. She wanted to see if Ren would pick up on her, or if he'd be distracted by the various couples and trios (and at least one quad) in the woods.

  
From the faint disgust on his face, Ren had noticed most of that. But his eyes had just slipped over where she was standing. Nora set the bags down and looked around. "Are we really the first ones here?"

  
"Pyrrha and Jaune are right behind us."

  
Nora peered off towards the quad, and spotted the rest of her team. "Oh. Still. Shouldn't Yang already be here, at least?"

  
Ren shrugged.

  
"Well, if they take too long, I'm going to start in on the chips. And the snack cakes. And maybe the jerky. Hey, where do you think we're playing?" Nora looked at Ren, but continued without waiting for a response. "Has to be somewhere inside, if we want to see the cards. I wonder if she found a cabin or something. Ooooh, or she could have big lamps!"

  
"Hello there!" Pyrrha waved. Both she and Jaune had backpacks on.

  
Jaune looked around. "Oh, that's what this is. This is where Ruby and I got lost on our first day."

  
Pyrrha asked, peering about. "Are you the only ones here?" Blake smiled inwardly. Good to know she had one advantage over Pyrrha. Ren was still looking into the woods, though, so she couldn't write him off.

  
"Yup. Everyone else is late, late, **late**."

  
"It's 9:01, Nora." Jaune waved his scroll. "They're just late. Three lates is for over fifteen minutes."

  
Blake noticed that some of the closer couples had withdrawn. Probably noticed the group of people standing around. Ren nodded, turned to look at his team. "Yang and Sun are coming."

  
"So what did you guys bring?" Nora picked up her bags. "We've got chips and snack cakes - chocolate, strawberry, vanilla - and jerky, and juices and sodas. Oh, and some cute little wine boxes." Blake wondering what brand of snack cakes. Because some of those 'vanilla' ones really, really weren't.

  
Holding the straps of his backpack, Jaune said. "Candy. So much candy. Dummies, Oozey Grimm, Moony Fraggys, Four Sisters bars. Uhh, more stuff I forget."

  
"And I brought waters and Dragoboons." Pyrrha shifted her feet. "...So... have any of you played this before?"

  
Ren shook his head.

  
Snorting, Nora said. "Nope! But it sounds like fun!"

  
"My parents didn't let us play any gambling games." Jaune put his hand behind his head. "Don't ask me how my sisters talked them into allowing Fortresses & Froghemoths. That was before my time."

  
"Oh." Pyrrha looked between her team mates. "At least we can lose as a team?"

  
Blake heard Sun and Yang before she saw them. Their laughter, specifically. They came around the bend, Yang with a backpack, Sun - amazingly - with his abs hidden in the Haven uniform, carrying a milk crate. Pyrrha and Nora waved, and the last two arrivals trotted on over. To an odd ringing, like a tiny bell.

  
Sun set down the crate. "So are we just waiting on Blake?"

  
"Guess so!" Nora squinted at Sun's crate. "What've you got?"

  
"Fruit! It's good for you!" Sun fished out an apple, and tossed it Nora, to the tinkling of a bell. Why was Sun wearing a bell on his tail?

  
Yang, with her aviators down, grinned. "Cards, poker chips and stuff for mixed drinks."

  
Stepping out of the woods, Blake asked. "Strawberry sunrises?"

  
Everyone jumped (though Ren had noticed her when she started moving).

  
"Gah!" Jaune grabbed at his chest. "Don't do that!"

  
Blake kept the smirk off her face. Mostly.

  
Recovering first, Yang said, "You know it. Now that we're all here, we can get moving. And leave all the canoodlers in peace!" She shouted the last at the woods.

  
Drifting out of the trees came a huffy "Thank you!"

  
Using her scroll as a flashlight, Yang led the way down a little side trail, marked every so often with a stone post. There was no other light, apart from the moon and stars. Everyone stuck fairly close behind Yang, but Blake hung back a bit. Took the opportunity to revel a bit in her superior night vision, keeping the group in her sights and stalking them through the woods. She didn't get much real practice, nowadays, apart from her Stealth & Security class. Ren, now that he knew she was there, was making a good effort at tracking her movements. Sun, despite theoretically being on level ground with her, was looking around aimlessly, chatting.

  
Blake picked up a few pebbles as she went, and amused herself by tossing them into the woods, trying to spook folks. The last one, she threw at Ren's back, and she was surprised when he managed to catch it. He looked around for a second, then threw it back. Hit her double instead.

  
The path let out into a small clearing, dominated by a neat little cabin. The windows were dark.

  
"Ta da!" Yang gestured at the cabin, hitting the front door with the light from her scroll. "One mostly secret hideaway. Probably for visitors to Beacon who want privacy, but don't want to have to shuttle over." She looked around. "So if everyone is finished playing in the dark..."

  
Blake rejoined the group, trying to look innocent.

  
Yang passed her scroll to Jaune. "Here, hold this on the door while I work."

  
Pyrrha looked a little uncomfortable. "Are we breaking in?"

  
"I mean, a little bit. Don't worry, we'll leave it like we found it." She and Jaune went to the door, and everyone else gathered closer.

  
"How do you know how to pick locks?" Jaune looked up at Blake. "Isn't Blake the one in Stealth & Security?"

  
"I'm my father's daughter." The door swung open. "Plus, it's just a 'we rather you didn't' lock. I mean, they teach lockpicking at Beacon. If they want something to actually be private, they'd invest in better locks." Yang herded everyone inside, hit the lights.

  
It wasn't a big space. A small kitchen unit, two doors on the opposite wall, flanking a fireplace. Two easy chairs, a breakfast nook. A few abstract watercolors decorating the walls. Hardwood floors, with a number of thick rugs about.

  
Counting chairs, Jaune said, "I guess we're playing on the floor."

  
Yang nodded. "Yup. Nora, Sun, let's clear a space. Everyone else, get food set up."

* * *

"So if you forget, we've got those print-outs for the hand rankings. Make sense so far?" Yang looked around the circle. They were sitting on the largest rug (royal blue, soft and thick), drinks and snacks on hand.

  
Blake nodded, studying the print-out with more effort than she really needed. JNPR, on the other hand, probably did need the effort. Sun was just sipping an iced tea, his tail bell tinkling. He still looked odd without his abs out.

  
"Okay." Yang set down her strawberry sunrise, reached behind her, grabbed a deck of cards, and started shuffling it. "So we're going to start real basic. Blake, can you pass everyone five white chips?" Blake started distributing them as Yang continued. "We're going to start with five-card draw. Everyone gets, go figure, five cards," She started dealing out around the circle. "Look at them, don't let anyone else see them. We go around the circle once, and everyone makes their initial bets."

  
Sun started, "What about-"

  
"Not going to worry about checking. Real basic, remember?"

  
"Right." He made a 'go ahead' motion, took another sip.

  
"Okay, so everyone look at their hands." Having distributed the chips, Blake scooped up her hand, curving them to keep them hidden. Two pairs, 7s and 10s. "First, we all ante up. Put a white chip in the middle. Each white chip is worth 1 lien. And everything in the middle is the pot. It's what we're playing for now." Seven chips met in the center of the rug. "Normally, Ren would bet first, but I'm going to do it this time, since we're just explaining." Yang spread her cards face-up on the carpet. 4, 9, 10, Jack, and Queen, no suits dominance. "I almost have a straight; I just need an 8 instead of the 4. Trying to go for the straight is risky, since if I fail, I just have a queen, but I'm going to try it. I open the betting at 1 lien." Yang added a white chip to the pot. "Okay, Ren. You can match my bet and call, if you think you have a better hand, or if you think I have a weak hand. Or you can raise, if you have a very good hand, or you want everyone to think you do. Or, if you've got absolutely nothing, you can fold, and forfeit your ante. But, you will be able to exchange three of your cards before the round is over, and if you get lucky, nothing could turn into something very good."

  
Ren looked at his cards. "Call." He added a white chip to the pile.

  
Yang looked at Pyrrha. "You're next." After a moment's hesitation, she matched the bet.

  
"I see your bet and raise." Sun added two chips to the pot.

  
Turning to Nora, Yang said, "Okay, so Sun thinks he's got a better hand than everyone else. Or he wants us to think that. So now you have the same options as earlier-"

  
Nora pushed all four of her remaining chips into the center, a gleam in her eye. "All in!"

  
Sighing, Yang reached into the pot and tossed Nora's chips back. "Stick to the rules I've explained, Nora. We'll get to the big plays."

  
"Fine." Nora put three chips in. "Raise."

  
Yang turned to Jaune. "You're up."

  
Jaune took a look at his cards, frowned, and put them down. "I fold."

  
"You sure?" Sun cocked his head. "You can trade out three of those cards after Blake goes."

  
"Oh." He picked up his cards again, squinting at them. "I guess I call, then." He added three chips to the pot. And then a chip out of his bowl, crunching down on it.

  
"Blake?" Yang nodded at her.

  
Two pair wasn't bad, but it would lose to Yang's straight, if she got one. But Blake didn't think that was likely. "Call." She added three to the pot.

  
Yang nodded. "So, we're going to go around the circle again, in the same order, and you just tell me how many cards you want to trade out. Pass them to me, face down, and I'll pass you your new cards. Then we do another round of betting, and reveal our hands." She picked up the 4 in her hand, put it in a discard pile, and drew a new card. A 3. "Ouch, okay, so Queen high. Ren?"

  
"Two." He received his new cards with no expression.

  
Pyrrha also took two, mouth quirking a little as she looked at them.

  
Sun said, "Hey, are aces high or low?"

  
"Eh, let's go high. And the jokers at out of play at the moment."

  
"One, then." Sun put on a look of disgust that Blake was pretty sure was feigned. Started eating an apple.

  
Nora traded out two of her cards, and rolled her eyes at what she got. Jaune got three new cards, still frowning.

  
Blake handing in her 5, and got an Ace. Still just two pair.

  
"Okay, so we don't need to ante in on the second round. I'm going to play it cool, pretend I have a good hand, and hope that everyone else cracks first." Yang grinned. "Which, obviously, isn't going to work, because I'm playing with my hand bare to the world." She added two chips to the pot. "I still have to match Sun and Nora's raises to continue, though."

  
Ren matched it.

  
Pyrrha folded, putting her hand down.

  
Sun raised, with a smirk. Went back to eating his apple.

  
Before Nora could do anything, Yang cut in. "Okay, so Sun either has a really good hand, or he's got nothing and he's doing the same thing I am. But you can't see his hand. What do you do?"

  
"I don't have any more chips," said Nora, "So I guess I just call?" She added her last chip to the pot, and started chewing on a stick of jerky.

  
Jaune folded.

  
Looking at her two pair, Blake also added her last chip. She was pretty sure Sun was bluffing, and that Nora was just reacting to his raises.

  
"Okay, so everyone who's still in, hands on the table." Yang indicated her own open hand. "Queen high."

  
Ren had a pair of 5s.

  
Sun tossed down his cards. "Glory before my pair of 4s."

  
Yang nodded. "And that's what bluffing looks like. Thanks, Sun."

  
Nora slammed her hand down. "HA! Pair of 6s!"

  
Blake laid her own hand down. "Two pair, 10s and 7s."

  
"And the pot goes to Blake." Yang dragged the pile towards Blake. "Not bad, though actually having a decent hand helps."

  
"Thanks."

  
"Hand your cards in, everyone. And Blake, pass out the chips again. Ten white, a green, and a blue. Whites are 1 lien, greens are 5 lien, blues are 10 lien. Blake's the banker. Between rounds, you can exchange clothes for blue chips. Or trinkets, whatever. Your last two items are worth purple chips, 25 lien each. And the orange chips are 50 lien." Yang started shuffling the deck. "If you don't have enough chips to call, you can take off one piece of clothing and all your chips to go all in, and you count as having called for the entire hand. If you win, woo, chips. If you lose, you start the next hand with chips worth whatever the piece of clothing was. Good?"

  
Everyone nodded or made affirmative noises. Blake finished passing the chips out. The price of sitting next to Yang, she figured. She'd gladly do some counting to be able to sit side-by-side with Yang, knees touching, her hair just out of reach. Still close enough to smell the strawberries in her shampoo (and from her drink).

  
Jaune said, "Hey, should we get a plate or something to hold the pot?"

  
Yang grinned. "Like a pot? Yeah, good idea. See what you can find." She looked around the circle as Jaune got up and started poking around in the kitchen cabinets. "And remember, the point is to have fun, yeah? We'll add more rules as the game goes on. Some of them will be stupid. But the big one is once you turn clothes into chips, you can't get them back. It's _strip_ poker, not undressing-and-redressing poker. Oh, everyone remember the safeword?"

  
Blake nodded, but everyone else didn't seem as sure.

  
"Okay, to review. If a conversation is making you uncomfortable, just say 'aardvark,' and everyone drops the conversation. Immediately, no questions. So, example. Blake, say something weird about Ruby."

  
"Uhhhh." Blake racked her brain. "Your sister snores like two freight trains that-"

  
"Aardvark." said Yang.

  
Blake changed course. "So how is everyone doing in Oobleck's class?"

  
Jaune groaned from the cabinets. "I thought the conversation was supposed to get _better_."

  
Grinning, Yang said, "Nope, just different. Find a pot for the pot?"

  
"Well, a platter, but yeah."

  
"Cool. Everyone, get comfortable. Oh, bathroom's the door on the right." She pointed. "Anyone want a strawberry sunrise?"

* * *

After a couple of real hands, Blake thought she was getting a handle on people's strategies. Nora was all-out aggression, all the time, regardless of what she was holding. She'd taken the first hand, but things had gone downhill for her after that. She was already out of her shoes, socks wriggling as they played.

  
Both Jaune and Pyrrha were playing conservatively, usually the first to fold. Jaune had already pawned his jacket for more chips, and Pyrrha wasn't far off. Neither really had the chip reserves to make conservative play successful. But time would tell with them.

  
Ren, Blake was worried about. He was hard to read, and he seemed a little less risk adverse than Jaune and Pyrrha. He'd taken the third hand, and actually had enough chips that he could wait for opportunities.

  
Sun had so many tells that some of them had to be fake. He usually escalated, which pushed Nora to escalate. He'd sold his Haven armband already, but didn't seem concerned. Why should he be, when he'd won the last hand?

  
Laughing, on her third drink, Yang was just enjoying herself. Not playing all that seriously. Her aviators were still perched on her head. Blake guessed that she'd put them down when she got serious. Could be because she knew her tell, could just be for a bit more privacy. Blake wondered if her eyes would go red if she got a bad hand when it mattered. She'd was taking her jacket off now, to get the chips for the fifth hand.

  
Blake, at least, was good on chips. She'd gotten lucky and won the second hand, and was in the same boat as Ren. Enough of a reserve for conservative play, but able to risk it when she needed to. She counted out the chips for Yang, passed them over.

  
Tossing her jacket into the corner, Yang dealt out the cards. Blake took a look: 7, 8, 9, 10, and a Queen, with no suit dominance. Everyone anted up, and Ren opened with two white chips. Nothing great, then. Pyrra, Sun, and, of course, Nora, all raised. Jaune matched, as did Blake. Yang raised.

  
Blake almost had a straight. She could toss the Queen, and hope she got a 6 or Jack. No, too risky. Around the rug, everyone exchanged cards. Pyrrha grimaced as she looked at her new card, looking at the discard pile. She must have drawn something to match one of her discards. Blake passed in her 7, and got a 10. Pair of 10s. Could be worse. Ren and Pyrrha folded. Sun and Nora raised. Jaune folded. Blake raised, and Yang matched her.

  
Sun only had a King. "Almost made that straight." He laid down a 9, Jack, and Queen, along with a 4.

  
Nora had another King. "Ha! But you didn't!"

  
Setting down her pair of 10s, Blake looked to Yang. Who grinned at Sun and said, "You and me both." Yang laid out a 6, 7, 9, 10 and a 2. "Your pot, Blake."

  
Blake scooped in the chips, doubling her stash. Everyone but Ren and Sun, looking at their tiny stacks, started unlacing shoes and unbuttoning jackets.

  
Jaune got lucky with three aces the next hand, but he'd raised very aggressively, so everyone but Sun and Nora had folded.

  
The hand after that, Pyrrha raised in exactly the same way. It scared off Ren, who'd opened modestly, and combined with Sun and Nora's typical raises, Jaune had also left. Blake, who'd managed to get two pair, Aces and 3s, raised in the same way. Which made Yang back off. It turned out that Pyrrha just had a pair of 7s, so it was Blake's pot again.

  
Laughing, Sun said, "Oh, to be young and lucky!" Yang snorted, shuffling the deck.

  
The next pot was Jaune's, but again, he'd been too aggressive to raising, tipping everyone off, so his two pairs, Jacks and Queens, went to waste.

  
Nora wiggled her bare toes at everyone. She hadn't been able to catch a break, since she always raised. So Sun had been using her to make his raises bigger, without making it look like he had a fantastic hand. Which meant that Nora had been shedding clothing just about every hand. She was just about out of accessories, except for her pink gloves.

  
As she dealt, Yang spoke up, "So, since certain people-" she looked meaningfully to Ren on her left and Blake on her left, "-think that they can just sit back and watch the rest of us take our clothes off, I'm changing the ante. Instead of one white chip, it's 10% of what you've got. Round to nearest lien. If they're paying more, maybe they'll play more."

  
Blake looked at her hand. Two 8s and three Queens. Full house. She smiled sweetly at Yang. "Well, if you insist. Ren and I will just have to bet more."

  
After that, no one was surprised when she raised more than usual. Pyrrha and Jaune backed out, as did Sun (but he could just not have had anything). When they revealed their hands, Yang was the only one who had anything. Two pair, 4s and 7s. She looked back and forth between her losing hand and Blake's full house. "Yeah, okay. I walked into that."

  
Nora shook her head, pulled her gloves off, and tossed them into her pile. "I don't know if Blake needs the help, Yang." Blake passed her a stack of ten more white chips.

  
After Jaune took the next pot, Yang looked up from peeling her stockings off. "Okay, so everyone comfortable so far? Apart from me and Nora?" Both of them were down to just their blouses and skirts. And Yang's aviators. "So, a few changes. In light of how badly we're getting our butts kicked by you clothed jerks, I'm saying the last two pieces of clothing are oranges, worth 50." Nora nodded her agreement. No one else seemed to object.

  
Sun's tail curled, ringing his bell again. "I'd hate to lose two players this early."

  
Nora slugged him in the arm in what she probably thought was a friendly manner. "Thanks!" Sun grimaced, Ren wincing in sympathy.

  
Rubbing his arm, Sun smiled at Nora. "Don't know what I'd do without you." Have to make his own raises, at least.

  
Finishing the last of her third drink, Yang said, "And there's more. So, five-card draw is great and all, but we're changing to something a little more exciting. I'm going to deal four cards to everyone, and one to the center. That's the community card, and everyone uses it. But that's okay, because it, and every card of the same number, is a wild card. So you can count it as any card of any suit. All good?" She looked around the circle as she dealt.

  
After a sip of his iced tea, Sun asked, "Five of a kind?"

  
"Above a Royal Flush." Yang shrugged. "But that's just guessing at the odds with some mental math. We can always check our scrolls." She put down a 10 for the community card.

  
"Nah, not worth it." Sun waved a hand, picked up his cards. "Ties?"

  
"Whoever needs fewer wild cards."

  
Blake checked her hand. Nothing worth mentioning. She could ditch two cards and hope to pick up a flush, but that was it. Jaune raised hard, and after the card swap, Sun did the same. Nora had to go all in to raise, but she did, unbuttoning her blouse and pulling it off.

  
Everyone who wasn't on team JNPR had a moment of distraction at Nora's hot pink sports bra, covered in little yellow lightning bolts.

  
Definitely cute, Blake thought to herself, but she could still think once the shock had passed, so that was good. Not that Nora wasn't attractive - she didn't swing that hammer around with her whimsical personality, but it was Nora. She just felt like a big, brash older sister. ...Was this how Ruby felt about Yang? Blake filed that away under 'Questions I Will Never Ever Ask.'

  
Yang shook her head. "You and your perfectly chiseled abs."

  
Having shoved all of her chips into the center, Nora grabbed a raspberry-filled snack cake and scarfed it down. "You can always come to my workout."

  
"No no, I'm good." Yang held up her hands. "Your warm-up nearly killed me. I've made peace with myself, I'm just going to admire you."

  
Jaune raised, and both Blake and Yang folded. It turned out that Jaune had two 10s and a Queen, for Four of a Kind. Unfortunately for him, Sun had the last 10, and a Royal Flush.

  
Nora shrugged at her lack of chips, started in on another snack cake as Blake paid her for her blouse.

  
Yang rose to her feet. Blake watched her carefully, ready to spring up and catch her if she toppled over. She _had_ downed three drinks in fifteen minutes. But she seemed fine so far.

  
"Anyone want a drink?" Yang walked over to the kitchenette, pulled an orange juice out of the fridge. Hopefully she was switching, and not making herself another sunrise.

  
Nora raised her hand. "Pink wine boxes for me and Ren." Ren nodded.

  
"Could I have one of those too?" Jaune asked.

  
"What color?" Yang checked the fridge, "Nora brought pink, more pink, red, even more pink, white-"

  
"Uh, red."

  
Yang grabbed three of the little boxes. "Blake, Pyrrha, you good?"

  
Pyrrha asked, on the verge of getting up herself, "Yellow Dragoboon?"

  
"Just one of the smoothies." Blake had only gotten ones she wanted. Except... "Not one of the green ones." Those were the weird algae smoothies for Ren.

  
Grabbing the sports drink and smoothie, Yang brought the drinks over, passed them out. As everyone starting in on them, Yang flopped back down and started dealing. "Same deal. Four cards each. Aaaaaaand." She flipped over the community card. "Sixes are wild." She opened her orange juice and took a pull on it.

  
Everyone anted up, and checked their cards. Well, Blake thought, except for Yang. She only had four white chips left, so she didn't have to pay into the pot. ...And she only had three pieces of clothing left. Unless something went very odd, she'd lose one of them this round. Blake swallowed, looked at her cards. 3, 4, 8, A. What would Yang get rid of?

She darted a glance up at Yang, who had dropped her aviators into place. Yang grinned at her.

  
She'd put her glasses down. Was she hiding something? Was it just that the drinks were making her sensitive to light? ...No, that was hangovers. That would be tomorrow. Stupid.

  
Blake looked at her cards again. She didn't remember what she'd had. 3, 4, 8, A. Sixes wild. A pair of aces was what she had. Blake shook her head, uncapped her smoothie, and took a drink. Yang couldn't ditch the shades, she was using them. Either to cover her tell, or to distract people from her tell. Skirt or blouse?

  
Ren started modestly. Pyrrha raised aggressively, considering how few chips she had. Considering how her last bluff had gone, Blake thought she might have something.

  
Laughing, Sun raised. Toasted Pyrrha with his tea.

  
Nora looked worried. Still raised.

  
Jaune matched, and turned to his wine box, trying to get the straw inserted, muttering at it.

  
Blake matched. She couldn't remember what she had anymore. It was just... Yang. She was still fully clothed, why couldn't Blake think? It wasn't like they didn't live in the same room. Everything was fine. But there was a difference between changing the same room, and sitting in the same room. Together. In underwear. ...What kind of underwear was Yang wearing?

  
Yang pushed all four of her chips forward, a broad grin on her face. "All in." She started unbuttoning her blouse.

  
She really shouldn't stare. She really, really shouldn't. Blake knew that. And here she was. Staring. She distantly heard Nora talking. Yang stopped halfway through her buttons, leaned back on her hands and laughed. Blake caught a flash of purple in Yang's shirt. Yang shook her head and kept unbuttoning.

  
A short eternity later, Yang tugged the bottom of her blouse out of her skirt, and pulled it off. Her bra was a bright purple, more strappy than anything. Blake dimly wondered how comfortable it was. Not that she'd fit in it. It was definitely decorative, not supportive. Yang would be more comfortable with it off.

  
That thought proceeded directly from her brain to her mouth, without further input from her.

  
Yang looked at her, pressing her lips together, and started shaking with suppressed laughter. Blake was content to let her keep doing that. For as long as possible.

  
"Blake!" Pyrrha was looking at her, eyes wide. And then Blake realized what she'd said. That she'd said it out loud, and everyone had heard her, not just Yang. Heard everyone else laughing.

  
Oh. Oh dear. Blake looked down at her cards, not looking around, trying not to think about how red she was getting. Not actually seeing her cards at all, just replaying her memories as slow as possible. Which really didn't help with how warm she was feeling. But she wasn't going to stop. Tugged at her collar, took a drink. Maybe they'll forget if she just kept quiet and kept her head down. Why purple? Blake knew that Yang usually wore a purple accent somewhere - to match her eyes. Was that it? That must be it. Blake's aura color being purple was just a coincidence. Yang had said for everyone to wear the cutest underwear. Maybe Yang just liked that pair best. ...But Blake had never seen it before. Not even out of the corner of her eye when Yang was changing, and Blake desperately wanted to put her book down and watch. But didn't. Yang would see her. What would she say? Tell her to stop? ...Tell her to keep looking? Blake wasn't sure which frightened her more.

  
Nudging her with her knee, Yang asked, "How many, Blake?"

  
Oh. Right. It must be her turn. Blake passed over her cards. ...which cards? how many? She checked her new hand. 8, 8, 9, A. Plus the wild 6. Three of a kind. For a random pass, that wasn't bad.

  
_Breathe in, hold it, breathe out._

  
Blake was pretty sure she could function again. So long as she didn't look at Yang for too long. Or at all. She rested her hand on the side of her face, using her fingers to block out her peripheral vision. Much safer. ...less fun. Blake tried to focus on the important part. As long as she was still wearing clothes, she'd be fine._ Just pretend Yang was in the middle of undressing. You're not undressed. It's just Yang being Yangy. Pretend you're Weiss, and try to ignore it. Think ice queen thoughts. Snow. Cold. Icicles. Yang throwing snowballs. In a big fur hat and boots. And a bikini._ Blake threw her attention back into the game, since her head wasn't helping.

  
Pyrrha had just raised. Sun grinned, and raised again. And then, predictably, so did Nora. Jaune looked at them, then folded.

  
Three 8s. She had a good hand, but not that good. Blake matched Nora.

  
Ren had three 10s. So much for winning. Pyrrha had four of a kind. Well, two 6s, which plus the community card, gave her four of a kind of whatever the highest card in her hand was. Which was a 7. Sun had a straight, from 9 to King. Nora only had a pair of Kings. Blake laid down her 8s.

  
Blake started to turn to Yang before stopping herself. Looked at the spot where Yang would lay her cards instead. She still heard the grin in Yang's voice. "Four of a kind." Yang laid down a 6 and two 9s. Beating Pyrrha's 'four' 7s.

  
"Well done, Yang." Pyrrha smiled across the circle.

  
"Thanks!" Yang collected the pot. "Taking my shirt off was a good idea."

  
_Breathe in, hold it, breathe out._ Focusing her attention on the chips, Blake occupied herself with exchanging denominations around the circle. Did not look at Yang. Who was wearing a pleated skirt, a pair of sunglasses, and her underwear. Her really sexy underwear. And probably a big grin. She had to know. She absolutely knew. Yang was doing this on purpose. Or somehow, she was more oblivious than Ruby about this sort of thing.

  
Which Yang wasn't. Blake knew that for a fact. Knew it from how well Yang picked up on her unspoken cues. The next two hands passed by in a vague blur. Pyrrha won the first, Sun the second.

  
They'd talked about all of this, though. Well, not strip poker in specific. Them. Sort of. As much as Blake could. Which she knew wasn't enough. How could it possibly be enough? A neutral party could look at the two of them and just assume they were close friends.

  
_Breathe in, hold it, breathe out._

  
She'd talked to Yang about it. Around it, really. Yang listened, she understood. Was letting Blake set the pace. Even this, this whole night. Yang had given Blake outs, if she hadn't wanted to come. But she had. Blake wasn't sure if she counted attending as a mark of success or failure. She was trying to let Yang in, trying not to flinch away. Even if she did have to endure some laughter from her friends.

  
Blake looked up, saw all three of the guys undressing. Sun taking his shirts off, Ren and Jaune removing ties and shoes. She checked their chips. Ren was lowish, but the other two were fine. Why...? Blake checked back through the conversation she'd been vaguely aware of. Sun had said something... 'I'm tired of this suit, my chest needs to breathe'? That sounded rightish. And Ren had said something about it getting warm.

  
Oh. She looked across the circle at Nora. In her underwear and a skirt. With only six white chips to her name. They were being noble or something. Leveling the playing field. Well, it wasn't like she minded looking at Sun's abs.

  
It didn't help Nora that much. Ren won the next hand, and Nora shrugged, and stood up. Unclasped her skirt and tossed it aside. She had cute little boyshorts, hot pink with yellow lightning bolts. And thighs that could crush an Ursa's skull. Ren, she noticed, was very much not paying attention. First, gathering in the pot, then turning to Blake to exchange some of the chips. Then paying very close attention to the text on his little wine box.

  
Blake looked over, caught Yang's eye. Just her eyes. Yang shrugged a hair. Nora made her attraction to Ren very clear. Very, very clear. They talked like a couple that had been married for decades. Well, Nora did most of the talking, but Ren seemed to like it that way. They'd found a balance. Blake knew, just like with her and Yang, there was more to the story. Blake wanted to know more, to try to help. But... she couldn't. She'd just have to wait and hope, and let Ren and Nora figure things out on their own.

  
Yang stopped before dealing the next hand, and talked everyone into switching to green chips, instead of whites, since the numbers were getting unwieldy. Blake occupied herself with the exchanges, and kept thinking.

  
It really hadn't been coincidence that Yang had invited three almost couples and Sun. Weiss was out not only because she absolutely wouldn't play strip poker, but because she had expressed to RWBY that she had absolutely zero interest in Jaune. Despite his crush on her. And Ruby was out because... well, that may have just been because Yang didn't want her little sister to see her drunk and mostly naked. Or vice versa.

  
So what about Sun? Blake glanced at her new set of cards. The usual suspects raised, and Blake just matched. Exchanged two of her cards. Actually looked at her cards and realized she had a full house again. By the time the betting came around to her, it was just Sun, Nora, her, and Yang. She raised.

  
Yang dropped out. "Too much for me."

  
For once, Sun wasn't bluffing. He had a flush. Unfortunately for him, a full house beat a flush. And Nora's three of a kind.

  
The next hand went out. Blake stared at hers. Looked suspiciously at Yang. She had two pair, which, with the community card, gave her another full house.

  
Yang laughed at her look. "Don't blame the dealer, Blake." Wildly misinterpreting her. With another full house, Blake took that hand too. Yang had folded the first round. Either because she knew what Blake had, or because she was trying to preserve her dwindling reserve. Because the alternative...

  
Out of chips and clothes, Nora flopped down her front and propped her head up between her hands. Idly kicking her feet in the air. "Well, everyone else had better get naked quick. Or I'm going to get real bored watching you play cards."

  
Yang asked, "Hey, want to come over here and deal?" She patted the space between her and Ren. Yang looked over at Blake. "You can save me from Blake's suspicious looks." So she had noticed.

  
Bounding to her feet, Nora went around the circle, and it shifted a bit to accommodate her new position. She looked distinctly pleased with her new position, even if Ren was conspicuously averting his eyes. But, Blake noticed, still stealing glances.

  
Jaune had been struggling out of two more pieces of clothing, including his shirt, leaving him in just pants and socks. "I think I'm going to need more chips that I can get for one. You all are pretty aggressive at betting." Blake glanced at Pyrrha. Her eyes were bright with _something_, but it wasn't the spirit of competition. Blake took at second look at Jaune when she handed him his chips. He didn't have Sun's absurd physique, but he wasn't far off. He certainly didn't have Sun's confidence in himself, half-hunched over, drinking from his wine box.

  
As Nora passed out the next hand, Yang said, "So all in favor of Blake paying double ante? Since she hasn't lost any clothes yet? And has more chips than the rest of us combined?" Everyone, including Nora and Yang, raised their hands.

  
"I'll remember this." Blake promised, looking around the circle. Nora - okay, fair point. She was mostly naked. Ren, still in most of his uniform. Pyrrha, still with her headdress and full coverage. Sun still had that annoying bell in his tail. Jaune, shirtless. Yang - yeah, she'd definitely remember that. She really wanted to reach out and snap some of the straps of her bra. See if she could get Yang to yelp.

  
She won the next hand, three aces over Ren's three jacks.

  
Jaune pulled his socks off. "Does it really count as a punishment, if she just wins all the hands anyway?"

  
Dealing out the next hand, Nora said, "C'mon, she's got to lose a hand eventually."

  
Looking at her newest hand, Blake had to agree. This hand was garbage. Jaune felt the same way, since he folded during the first round of betting. Pyrrha seemed to be the only one who was really enthusiastic about her hand. Even Sun looked at his with some distaste. But he hadn't raised either.

  
A card exchange didn't really help Blake. She abandoned her considerable ante and folded. "Well, Jaune, I can't win this one."

  
Laughing, Yang stood up. "Everyone's winning this round." She unhooked her skirt and tossed it aside.

  
She kept talking, but Blake really wasn't listening. Blake had enough control of herself to literally sit on her hands. Because the urge to just slide her fingers underneath Yang's straps and play with them was nearly overwhelming. Blake swallowed a few times. Watched Yang spin around and show off how cute her butt looked in her purple panties. Told herself firmly that she could not bite Yang's butt. Should not. Not in front of everyone. Probably.

  
Pyrrha took the pot, despite Yang going all in.

  
Refocused on the game, Blake desperately didn't pay any more attention to Yang. She lost to Ren the next hand, three aces against a straight. To Jaune the round after. Ren and Sun lost some of their accessories to that.

  
Sun won the next hand, and Yang had to cash in her aviators to stay in the game. Blake wasn't doing well herself. Having to pay twice the ante meant that her reserve was rapidly spreading around the table.

  
Whooping, Yang laid down four of a kind, and raked in the next pot.

  
The next two hands were Ren's, though. Pyrrha had to pull off her stockings for the chips. Blake looked at the single green chip in her possession, then up at Yang.

  
"Hey, don't look at me for sympathy." Yang sat up, ran a hand down herself. Blake tried not to stare. "Look at me, then look at yourself." She reached out and tugged on Blake's school tie.

  
On her other side, Nora jabbed Yang in the butt. "Hey, you going to show off or play?" She had the deck poised, ready to deal out the next hand.

  
Yang looked over to Ren's giant stack of chips. "I mean, Ren still has his shirt on. What say he and Blake are up to triple ante, and everyone else is at double?" Ren narrowed his eyes at her.

  
From the other side of the circle, Sun added, "How about another discouragement on careful play? If you have more than 100, and you fold, you lose a piece of clothing."

  
Nora snorted. Elbowed Ren. "Yeah, Ren, spread those chips around."

  
Looking around the table, Ren took a careful drink from his wine box. Slurped out the last drops, crushed it in his hand. Nodded.

* * *

Blake sighed, passed two cards over to Nora to be exchanged. She'd lost clothing for the last five rounds. Her tie, shoes, socks, jacket and vest, all gone. At least Ren's giant pile of chips was also gone. Looked at her new hand. 6, 9 and two Queens. Blake glanced up at the community card. Also a Queen. She tried not to let the stab of excitement show. Didn't have the chips to raise, so just matched. Won, her 'four' nines against everyone else's three of a kind.

  
Felt Yang pat her shoulder. "Good work. Didn't think you'd pull out." Looked at Yang, in just her underwear. With no chips. Tried to think of something to say. Didn't think of anything before Yang got to her feet, and strolled back over to the kitchenette. "Okay, so - switching to blues as the lowest chip. Sun, you get to join the triple ante club too." Yang started mixing herself another strawberry sunrise. "Anyone want anything? Nora's dealing, so I may as well be the maid." Everyone started chiming in with requests.

  
Why did her brain insist on doing this? Blake pressed a knuckle into her forehead, trying not to dwell on the image of Yang in a frilly skirt and low-cut top. She was right over there, already in her underwear! ...Blake tried not to dwell on that either.

  
She looked around the circle. Ren still had his shirt, pants, socks and shoes. Pyrrha was down to just her blouse and skirt. Sun had pants and his gloves. Jaune just had pants. And Blake still had her blouse, skirt, undershirt, and ribbon bracers. Nora started dealing out the next hand.

  
And Yang started bringing requested drinks and snacks over. She'd tied her hair back with a bow, and was delivering everything with a wicked grin, bending over at the waist and practically falling out of her top. Blake was very glad she hadn't wanted anything. Sun just took his daiquiri with a grin. Jaune sat back, holding his bowl of Oozey Grimm candies, blinking repeatedly. Shaking himself a bit. Ren had just thanked her politely, took his algae smoothie, and went back to trying (and failing) not look at Nora sprawled out on the rug next to him. Blake couldn't really blame him. Nora's butt did look really good. Nora just took her wine and banana and kept shuffling. Pyrrha had kept strict eye contact with Yang. Also took her wine and banana, and started in on them.

  
If Yang had still been next to Blake, she would have looked at her sidelong. But with Yang as she was, it was safer not to draw her attention. Pyrrha was _trying_ to be suggestive with her banana eating. Buuuuuuuut wasn't really managing it. Nora absolutely ruined it by snapping her banana in half loudly, and peeling each half separately. "Are we playing, or what?" She asked, between banana halves.

  
Sun won the next two hands, putting his chip collection at 'moderately absurd.' Jaune had to pawn his pants for chips, sitting there in Pumpkin Pete boxers.

  
Somehow, Pyrrha managed to take the next hand. Though she was red in the face the entire time. Probably thanking her luck that her Pumpkin Pete's contract hadn't extended to clothing.

  
Jaune managed to get lucky with a full house, and win himself some breathing room. Even if he was stuck in just his boxers now. Ren and Blake both had to shed clothing. But given that Ren was taking his shoes off, and Blake was stripping off her ribbon bracers, she didn't think it was quite equal. Pyrrha, Sun, and Jaune all had plenty of chips, and she and Ren were trading clothes for a single blue chip.

  
The next hand did not improve matters. Ren lost his socks, and Blake had to take her blouse off. At least she was still wearing an undershirt. Everyone was down to two pieces of clothing. except for Jaune, who was only still in because of his chips.

  
Yang whisked away some empty dishes and trash. Looked at the state of the circle, Sun's enormous pile of chips. "Sun, quad antes. Everyone else at double."

  
Rolling his eyes, Sun said, "Okay, _Mom_."

  
_Tsk, tsking_, she said, "Does your mom work in her underwear? Is that a Vacuo thing, or a Haven thing?" She turned around, slapped her own butt. "Do you like looking at your mother's ass?"

  
Blake buried her head in her hands. _Yang, why?_

  
Thankfully, Yang was done after that. Just started doing the dishes, humming to herself. Taking sips from her drink. She smiled when she noticed Blake watching her. Wiggled her butt at her and went back to work. Blake waved off Nora's question, looked down to hide her blush. How drunk was Yang? She was always flirty, but all that seemed a lot more immediate when she was mostly naked. Four drinks? Maybe five? It had been a good hour since they started. Hour and a half? Two hours? Her sense of time was all messed up, what with the slow motion she kept experiencing whenever she looked at Yang.

  
Nora poked her. "Your bet. Don't think you can get out of it by being all moon-eyed."

  
Looking down at her pile of chips - she didn't have any chips. Again? She started to ask if anyone had raised, then looked across the circle at Sun. Who was looking at her with a big grin on his face. He'd absolutely raised. Blake rolled her eyes. Pulled her undershirt over her head, tossed it into her pile. "All in." She leaned forward to pick up her cards, looking up at Sun through her eyelashes for his reaction. He was trying to stay cool, but a blush was rolling up his cheeks. She saw him swallow a few times. Well, that was gratifying.

  
She actually looked at her cards, and the community card. Three of a kind. Not great, but who knew? Ren, now shirtless, only had a pair of aces. Pyrrha had three 10s. Sun had a pair of kings. Jaune _almost_ had a flush. But didn't. And Blake's three of a kind were Aces, which meant the pot was hers. ...The very large pot.

  
Blake raked it in, feeling a sudden surge of hope. Sure, she was showing off her lacy black bra to everyone, but she actually had a reserve again, so her skirt was safe. Nora dealt out fresh hands, and Blake checked hers. It wasn't a royal flush, but it was a royal straight. It wasn't actually higher ranked than a regular straight, but it did make her feel better. And it meant she didn't have to worry about trading cards, or how much she bet. Which meant she could have some fun. "Hey, Yang?"

  
Without turning around, Yang kept washing dishes. "Yes, ma'am?"

  
She was really getting into character. "Could you mix me a drink?"

  
"What did you want?" Either Yang knew what Blake was doing, or she really wanted to get those dishes clean.

  
"Strawberry sunrise. Heavy on the liquor."

  
"Are you suuuure?" She could also just be very drunk. Play had stopped, as everyone watched one of them, or turned their head between both.

  
Blake put as much misery into her voice as she could manage, smiling as wide as she was. "Yeah, I'm sure. I mean, I _did_ just lose my shirt."

  
Yang whipped around to stare at her. Blake couldn't actually smile any more, but she did sit up straight and stick her chest out. She saw Yang dip a bit, brace her arms on the counter to keep herself upright. Oh, that felt **good**. The rest of the circle snickered at the exchange, went back to the game.

  
Managing to tear her eyes away, Yang started to mix up a drink. But she did keep darting glances at Blake. Blake thought about winking each time she noticed, but figured she actually had a game to play. And she probably shouldn't spend too much time looking at Yang. Good way to lose her skirt.

  
Her straight took the round, mainly because no one else had anything. Nora looked at her suddenly massive pile of chips, and said, "Maybe whoever is winning at the moment should have bigger antes, instead of specific people. The chips seem to move around a lot."

  
Blake did some mental math, then said, "Break 400, quad ante?" Everyone else thought for a moment, then nodded.

  
Not that it helped Ren, who had to pull off his pants to stay in the next round. He was wearing black silk boxers, with pink hearts printed on them. Nora's jaw dropped, then she smiled up at Ren. "You did keep them!"

  
"Of course. They fit." From the shifting of his eyes, that wasn't the only reason. Blake smiled, and checked her cards. Three Queens. But she had the chips that she could raise aggressively, and test everyone's nerves. It didn't work this round, because Pyrrha laid down four of a kind. Still red-faced, still trying not to look at Jaune in his boxers.

  
Nora started dealing the next hand, and Blake was concentrating on that. Sun had winked at her from across the circle, and she was trying to forget that she was just in her bra. It wasn't working. She picked up her cards, realized she had a straight.

  
"Your drink, ma'am." Yang had managed to get right next to her. She turned and looked. Tried to remember how to breathe. Yang had decided that the best glass for her strawberry sunrise was a long-stemmed wine glass. Yang had also decided that just handing her the glass was too easy. So there she was, kneeling next to Blake, holding the stem of the glass with her cleavage. Grinning like a maniac, hands on either side of her bosom, holding the glass in place.

  
Blake lifted her hand, tried to figure out how she was supposed to grab her drink. She settled for taking it by the rim. Veeeeeery carefully. Narrowed her eyes at Yang when she didn't let go. Yang stuck out her tongue at Blake, let go. Sashayed back to the sink, humming.

  
Hiding her blush with the rim of her glass, Blake took a big gulp. Shook herself. That was a **lot** of booze. Tasty, but not as sneaky as normal. She set her glass down, sighed as Ren won with four of a kind. Sun pulled his glove/gauntlet things off, and Blake started dealing him out chips. Shaking his head, Jaune stood up. "Yang, you need any help?"

  
She looked over at him. "Want to dry?"

  
Blake noticed that Pyrrha seemed almost relieved. She was the only one still with a shirt. And looking at Jaune couldn't have been helping her playing. Nora finished shuffling and started dealing out the next hand. The hands were going faster, with fewer players. The bet sizes were getting larger, but changing up to higher value chips was helping with that. Blake bent an ear towards Yang and Jaune's conversation at the sink.

  
"Towel's right there. How're you doing?"

  
"Better than I thought. I guess having seven sisters desensitized me."

  
Yang snorted. "Uh huh."

  
Looking at her cards, Blake kept her face neutral. Another royal straight. The first round of betting went around, and then the card exchanging. Sun undid his belt. "You just had to raise, Blake. All in." Unbuttoned and unzipped, he stood up to finish taking his pants off.

  
She put a hand over her mouth, held her lips tightly shut. Sun was wearing an _extremely brief_ set of briefs. Bright blue, with a cartoon character giving a thumbs up. Blake glanced around the room. Snorting, Nora also gave Sun a thumbs up. Ren was just looking, blinking rapidly. Pyrrha had her head buried in her hands again. Yang had looked over her shoulder, and was now hunched over the sink, shaking with silent laughter. Jaune was just staring, drying the bowl he was holding over and over and over...

  
Blake wasn't really able to talk at the moment, but her straight did beat Ren's three Jacks. Blinking back of tears of effort from not bursting into laughter, she looked at the cards Nora had dealt her. 8, 10, Jack, King, and 2s were wild. She may as well continue trying to get straights. Pyrrha raised, as did Blake. Not that Sun had anything to raise _with_. But neither Pyrrha or Sun exchanged cards. Blake did get the queen she needed for her straight. Ren raised, and Pyrrha matched him. Sun shrugged. "I can't really go all in if I don't have any clothes left to take off. Unless-" He hooked a finger under the strap of his briefs.

  
From the kitchenette, Yang half-yelled, "Nope!"

  
Rolling his eyes, Sun laid down his hand; 2, 9, 10, Jack. "Yang just saved you from my straight. Next time, beginners." He bounced up and grabbed an apple, eating it loudly as he watched from the breakfast nook.

  
Blake matched, and all three of them laid down their cards. All three of them had straights. Pyrrha's ran from 5 to 9. But both Blake and Ren had 10s to Aces, Ren using the wild card for a Jack, Blake using it for an Ace.

  
Looking over at Sun, Nora asked, "You wanna judge here?"

  
He came back over, crouched down next to Blake, peering at the cards. Blake surreptitiously glanced over at his butt. She'd been expect a thong back, and Sun hadn't disappointed her.

  
"Blake's using the wild card for a higher denomination. So I say it's Ren's hand." He smirked at Blake. "Plus, she just snuck a look at my butt, so nyaaaah!" He pulled a face and went back to the nook, with an exaggerated strut.

  
Pyrrha sighed, looking down at her absence of chips. Started taking her blouse off. Blake decided now was an excellent time to take a long drink. When she lowered her glass, shivering as the alcohol hit her, Pyrrha was just in a lacy, bright yellow bra. Very similar to Blake's. Pyrrha had more to show off, though. Blake passed her new chips over.

  
It was just Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha now. If Pyrrha didn't win a hand quickly, she'd be out of her skirt, and then out of the game. Ren was only still in because he'd been playing carefully, since he was out of clothes. Blake just had her skirt left.

  
At the fridge, Yang called out, "Anyone want another drink?"

  
She took all their requests, tossing a blue Dragoboon at Sun, getting more wine boxes for Nora and Ren, and asked Jaune to grab Pyrrha's Dragoboon. As Nora dealt, he passed it down to her, trying to avert his eyes. Pyrrha smiled up at him. Wiggled a bit. "Thank you, Jaune."

  
"You're welcome!" He hurried back to the sink, facing away from the group.

  
When Yang rejoined him at the sink, Blake barely heard her whisper, "Desensitized, huh?"

  
"Shut up."

  
Blake won the next hand, her straight beating Ren's. With the amounts they were betting, Pyrrha was going to lose her skirt the next round. And if she didn't win...

  
Pyrrha unhooked her skirt to join the first round of betting. Blake only had a pair of Aces. And the certainty that she and Pyrrha were wearing the same underwear, in different colors. Ren, as usual, had given nothing away. But he turned out to also only have a pair of Aces. Letting Pyrrha and her three 10s take the pot. Safe for the moment.

  
As the only one still wearing bankable clothing, Blake heaved a sigh of relief. She still had her skirt, and all she had to do was play safe, and she would make it through this still vaguely covered. Modesty certainly not intact, but maybe with dignity intact. Maybe.

  
She looked at her fresh hand. 3, 5, 8, King. 10s wild. Ren opened strongly. Pyrrha raised. Blake matched her. Both of her opponents traded in one card. Blake ditched her 3 and 5, and got a 3 and a King back. So much for a full house. She had three Kings. Ren matched Pyrrha's raise, and she raised again. Blake called. Ren had three 4s, Pyrrha almost had a straight. Almost.

  
Blake took the pot, had to immediately ante up nearly half of it for the next round. Nora dealt her a 2, 7, 8, and Jack, with only the 8 being out of suit. 2s wild again. She had to try for the flush; she didn't have anything else.

  
Ren opened, and both Pyrrha and Blake raised. Ren didn't have enough to match, and put his cards down. Pyrrha exchanged one card, and her eyes brightened. Blake handed in her 8 - and got a Queen back. Of the right suit.

  
Pyrrha raised again. Blake matched her. Pyrrha revealed three Aces. Blake put down her flush. Took the pot. Pyrrha didn't have many chips left. One more hand.

  
"I think we're about done." Nora called over towards the sink, dealing. Jaune and Yang came over, Yang drying her hands, Jaune shuffling a bit awkwardly. Sun hopped up from the breakfast nook, and peered over the circle. The community card went out: 9.

  
Opening modestly, Pyrrha didn't look at Blake, just toyed with a card in her hand. Probably going to trade it in. Blake looked at her hand. 2, 7, 10, A. Two Aces, then. She raised.

Pyrrha traded in the card she'd been fingering, just glanced at her new card. Looked down at her small stack of chips. Blake passed in her 7, and got another 7 back. Very helpful. Still only two Aces. Pyrrha _had_ to be able to beat that.

  
Pushing all her chips forward, Pyrrha said, "All in." Stared full in Blake's face.

  
Blake looked up at Yang, grinned. May as well play along. Back to Pyrrha. "Sure, why not?" She added the rest of her chips to the pot. "All in."

  
They laid down their hands. Blake still just had two Aces. Pyrrha had a 3, 6, 8, ...and an Ace. Also two Aces.

  
Sun started laughing. "Good job bluffing with _nothing_, both of you."

  
"Soooo..." Nora looked up at Yang. "Who wins?"

  
"Well, we didn't say one suit was more valuable than another." Yang shrugged. "It really hasn't mattered until now. Because people have been winning with actual hands, not just 'double my highest card.'" She snorted, shook her head.

  
Jaune leaned over the counter, "You organized this. You get to decide."

  
"Sounds fair to me." Pyrrha leaned back on her hands. Very much not looking at Jaune. Just nonchalantly stretching.

  
Blake nodded, looked up at Yang for her decision.

  
Yang came over back into the circle, looking at the two hands, and the two players. _Lingering_ a bit much on Blake and her current lack of an actual top. Blake stuck out her tongue at Yang.

  
Raising her voice, Yang said, "In light of the details that have come light on closer examination, I have concluded that Blake Belladonna is the winner-" She smirked, and sat down. "...If she takes her skirt off."

  
"Oh come _on_." Blake was pretty sure she was going to catch on fire.

  
Yang shrugged. "Take the win, lose your skirt. Give Pyrrha the win, keep your skirt. Your choice." Blake sat back, ready to concede. It was only a game, and she could still get out of this with her panties unseen. "Buuuuuut-" Yang added, "if Pyrrha wins, then nothing has changed. Sacrifice your skirt, and you get something no one else has gotten: A victory over the invincible Pyrrha Nikos."

  
Pyrrha put her hands over her mouth, but a hint of a giggle still escaped.

  
Grinning, Yang asked, "So, Blake, what's it going to be?"

  
Keeping her face calm, Blake stood up, turned away from the group. "I choose-"

  
_Breathe in, hold it, breathe out._

  
"-Victory." She unhooked her skirt, tossed it into her pile.

Turned back around, taking in everyone's faces. Pyrrha wasn't shocked. She know how valuable a victory over her was. She also knew what the back of Blake's panties looked like, since they were wearing the same model. Maybe a bit appreciative. Nora was nodding along, grinning. Ren was just taking another pull at his smoothie, shaking his head. Jaune had retreated back behind a counter, looking around for more dishes. Or maybe a cold shower. Sun and Yang were still staring. They blinked a bit, shaking themselves. Maybe plotting out routes to get behind her again.

Blake smiled. "Who wants sake?"


End file.
